The last we heard from the eight-year divorce battle between Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt was in July, when Jolie publicly asked Pitt to drop his lawsuit against her, regarding the French winery, Château Miraval, they once shared. But on Monday, Jolie's lawyer told People that a settlement was finally reached on December 30, marking an end to a near-decade battle in which Pitt was revealed to have physically abused Jolie and at least two of their children.
“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Jolie’s lawyer in said in a statement. “This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The Associated Press reports that "Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court...saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights," including that they forgo any right to any future spousal financial support. However, the declaration apparently doesn't include anything about Château Miraval, so I'm guessing that's why Jolie's lawyers specifically said this agreement was just "one part" of a "long, ongoing process."
The former couple announced their engagement in April 2012, got married in August 2014, and Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016. A judge declared them each legally single in 2019, but they continued to battle over the Miravel winery and negotiate the custody of their six kids.
In May 2021, Pitt was awarded joint custody, but in July of that year, the judge was found to have a conflict of interest, and the decision was reversed. Meanwhile, that same year, Jolie sold her shares in Château Miraval to the Russian oligarch-owned Stoli group—Pitt then sued her in 2022 for selling the shares without his consent, accusing Jolie of intentionally trying to "inflict harm" on him. Jolie countersued, stating Pitt was "waging a vindictive war against" her, which brings us to July. A judge had already dismissed five out of seven of Pitt's claims and Jolie's public plea for Pitt to drop the suit stated that Pitt “has control of all the properties the couple shared as well as control of the business, but still he demands more, and is suing Angelina for $67 million plus punitive damages.”
It was eventually revealed that Jolie filed for divorce days after Pitt got drunk on a flight and was allegedly abusive to her and the children. Pitt denied the allegations and wasn't charged by authorities. In April, as part of their ongoing battle over Jolie's decision to sell her shares of the winery, Jolie revealed in a new filing that the infamous 2016 plane incident wasn't the first time Pitt got physical with her, but was the first time "he turned his physical abuse on the children as well." Earlier this year, Jolie and Pitt's fraternal twins, Vivienne and Shiloh, both made moves to drop Pitt from their last name.
"She doesn’t speak ill of [Pitt] publicly or privately," a source told People of the settlement. "She’s been trying hard to be light after a dark time."
The Daily Mail is further reporting that Pitt's been eager to get things settled because he wants to get married and have kids with Ines de Ramon, whom he's been dating since 2022. 'They are looking to get married in the next year and Brad has settled because he wants to keep his children on [his] side for his new marriage to go ahead," the source told the tabloid. "Apparently Ines is keen to have children too and pressured him to get it all sorted out as soon as possible." Good luck, babe.
